Advice from the Market Stall
by SamCyberCat
Summary: Marilyn is known both for being a good salesperson and being wise beyond her years. Here are a few examples of her giving advice to others and perhaps even learning about herself as she does. Grasping Liquid side-story. Marilyn/Gus.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** This is a side-story for Grasping Liquid, featuring a series of connected one-shots about Marilyn's actions during Act Two. The first chapter is set during Chapter Ten of Grasping Liquid, when Marilyn  & Louis walked off together to talk about Louis's family situation. Sadly this story probably won't make too much sense if you're reading this entirely as it's own thing, so if you do want to read it then I'd recommend having read up to the end of Act Two of Grasping Liquid.

* * *

Louis was unusually quiet as he made his way with Marilyn back to her family's market stall. She picked up on this straight away, although it wasn't exactly a genius observation when it came to Louis. The scouser was well known for his gossipy ways and usually the only times he wasn't talking were when he was listening to scandalous news that others had to say. That was not the case right now though. As he walked he seemed sort of dejected and there wasn't anyone around for him to listen into the conversations of as a form of distraction. It was just the two of them.

Naturally Marilyn was concerned about this, but she knew that she'd get him to talk soon enough. The two of them had been best friends as far back as she could remember and if anything was bothering Louis then Marilyn was usually the first to hear about it. All she had to do was wait for him to open up. And maybe provide a bit of prompting for him to do just that.

As they reached the stall itself Marilyn went through the motions of setting up; she hauled the wooden containers into place, before filling them with some of the groceries her father had left covered behind the stall earlier that morning. It wasn't an easy life between getting the fresh fruit there each morning and then returning to care for her mother, so Marilyn didn't begrudge him for not setting up himself. Besides, it would have been foolish to leave the wares on display when Marilyn hadn't yet got there to guard the stall. Perhaps the market wasn't busy at this time, but it was still home to many opportunists. Marilyn knew that from being one herself.

She felt a little bad that she'd got there later than usual this morning, not that her dad would know either way. If it was down to Marilyn then she'd have set up much earlier, but she'd needed to talk to Crow and the leader's movements could sometimes be so erratic that it was often a case of grabbing him as soon as you found him if you had something you wanted to say.

But she was here now and that was what mattered. All being late meant was that she'd have to push her sales pitches to sell extra, which she wasn't worried about being able to do. This was her trade. She was an expert.

The same could not be said for Louis, however, who although helping set up was doing so by merely lifting one small punnet of strawberries at a time onto the counter.

"Come on, Lozza! Lift any more than that and people might accuse you of doing some work," she goaded.

Louis dropped a punnet onto the counter and put his hand over his heart; "Wouldn't wanna ruin my reputation, like, would I?"

"Why spoil what you've spent a lifetime building up," Marilyn agreed.

"Yeah..."

That reply hung in the air for far too long. It wasn't like Louis not to follow up with another quip. Something was definitely wrong today and she needed to get out of him what it was.

"All right, let's not mess about here," pressed Marilyn, "What's wrong with your face?"

"Nah, you're not gonna win that way, Mal," huffed Louis, suddenly sounding more like himself, "Tell me what you were talking about with Crow first and then I'll think about letting you know what's bothering me."

Marilyn tutted, "Well, I was going to tell you about Crow anyway. But if you're going to be like that then I guess I'll just talk to everyone else first and get back to you later."

"You can't do that! You know how much I hate being the last to know!" whined Louis.

"I do know, which is why I wouldn't do that to you," Marilyn assured, "So I'll tell you about Crow now, but you need to promise that you'll talk once I'm done."

"Will do," vowed Louis, with a small nod, "It wasn't gonna be a secret anyway, not for long, like..."

She hated when he acted cryptic like that, it didn't suit him. But she had made a promise to go first, so Marilyn took a breath and started her story.

"Wren's been writing to me for some time," she informed, "Lately she's been talking about having some of us come up to stay with her and Socket in Northumberland, so I thought it could be a good chance for Crow to make up for what he did the last time he went up there."

Louis winced, given that he had also been part of that plan.

"Yeah, that was deffo a mess, like," he agreed, "I reckon us lot that were involved should go say sorry for real. Though, um, I'm not sure I'll be able to..."

"Why's that?" Marilyn checked.

"Nah, I said you need to finish your story first," huffed Louis.

"Very well, inviting you wasn't part of the plan anyway," Marilyn dismissed.

"Charmed!" Louis snorted.

"It's nothing like that. It's just that Crow was the one who messed up. The rest of you were caught in his whirlwind like you always are, just following along and hoping that he knew best," continued Marilyn, "There's really no stopping him once he gets an idea into his head."

"That's our Crow all right. But you weren't planning on sending him up there on his tod now, were you?" asked Louis.

"No, that would go terribly," Marilyn answered, "Especially given how poor Wren feels about him. She must be so confused and shaken up after last time, even if she doesn't show it... But I thought about who to send up and I reckon we could kill two birds with one stone on this trip."

"That's... very practical of you?" replied Louis, completely lost to what she meant.

"Well, Badger's been just as hurt by what happened, maybe even more so," Marilyn went on, "I think that he wants to connect with Crow again, but it's kind of hard to do that when they've got the failings of the black market hanging over them every day and each of them thinks it's their fault. A break from Misthallery could be what they both need."

"So you're saying you want just Badger and Crow to go?" checked Louis.

"That's right. This morning I was tricking Crow into thinking it was his idea," Marilyn chuckled, "But anyway, now you know what I was talking to him about, so spill the beans on what's been bothering you."

The face that Louis pulled was almost glum enough to turn the fruit at the stall rotten, but regardless he did concede defeat that they had agreed to this.

"I don't wanna tell you, Mal. Like, really don't wanna tell you," he sighed.

"Nothing you do can surprise me," Marilyn insisted, "I've known you since you first moved here and I reckon that I've seen you try almost everything in that time."

"Moving's sort of what I need to tell you. As in we're moving back the way we came..." mumbled Louis.

"Back to Liverpool...?" Marilyn asked.

"Yeah, that's right. It's been on the table for a while now, but I was never sure we'd go through with it," answered Louis, "But, like, Dad's not getting any better. We all know that. The Black Ravens more than anyone. So Mum finally put her foot down and decided that getting out of this town and back to our roots might help him sort his priorities out."

"This is just it then? You're leaving?" she pressed.

Louis smirked; "Betcha didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"No... I didn't. But why are you smiling? What could there possibly be in this to smile about?" snapped Marilyn.

"Because you didn't know it was going to happen," Louis clarified, "In this town you know everything that happens to everyone, sometimes even before they do. Crow's the one who fancies he's pulling the strings, but only because you let him think that. You can tell what almost everyone's going to do and here I've managed to do something that you didn't guess was coming."

"That's no reason to be glad about it. You're still moving!" Marilyn reminded.

"Yeah, and that's awful, don't get me wrong," agreed Louis, "But I know you as well as you know me and I worry about you, Mal. You're so good at what you do and you work so hard for everyone's sake that sometimes I think you forget to just be you. So I'm glad that in this town where you've got everything figured out that there's still some things that can surprise you."

"Look at you, getting all deep," Marilyn evaded, "They're going to be impressed at how much you've changed if you go back to Liverpool spouting stuff like that."

"I learned from the best," he hummed.

Marilyn nudged him with her elbow; "Leave it off. You know your charms don't work on me."

Before Louis could make any sort of retort a customer came over to inspect the stall. He stepped away, since he knew it was off-putting to have someone loitering around the stall like he was when the customers were looking at the wares. Fortunately the woman was a regular and didn't pay him much mind, checking over today's selection of tomatoes while listening to a sales pitch from Marilyn. By the time she went on her way Marilyn had managed to sell her a bunch of carrots, two heads of lettuce and a cucumber on top of the tomatoes she'd originally dropped by for. As well as making money out of them, Marilyn liked to believe that she kept the residents of Misthallery eating healthy greens.

Louis waited a few moments before scooting back across to the stall. Though even with some time to think about it Marilyn wasn't quite sure what to say to him.

"...I'm sorry you're leaving," she settled on.

"Yeah, me too," Louis replied, "It's going to be hard. And I'm still not sure how to let the others know. Except for Badger, I already told him."

"I should be insulted that I'm not the first to know," Marilyn joked.

"Well you were off arranging your master plan to save Crow and Badger from themselves," reminded Louis, "...But seriously, Mal, don't get so caught up in helping everyone else that you forget to help yourself."

"I'm sure I'll manage," Marilyn replied. It came out a bit colder than she intended to say it.

"Yeah, you will. I know you will," assured Louis, "Heck, I don't even know what I'm gonna do without you, like."

"Probably get into all kinds of trouble and not feel bad about it," Marilyn predicted.

"That sounds like me," Louis laughed, "Anyway, I can see that more people are starting to hang about now, so I better let you get on with your work. Gives me a chance to tell everyone else about what's happening."

"Good luck with that," said Marilyn. And she meant it.

"Maybe later when the stall's closed we can go grab a couple of shandies and go sit up on the rooftops," Louis offered, "Talk about the future or whatever."

"I'd like that. But not the talking about the future bit. There's still too much uncertain to talk about that," Marilyn replied.

"Even to you?" teased Louis.

"Yes, even to me," Marilyn confirmed, "But if we just talk about the times gone by then maybe that'd be nice. The future's going to come whether we want it to or not..."

"Sometimes it's best just to run head first into it," Louis suggested.

"You would say that," Marilyn retorted.

"It's the tried and true Lozza way. So... yeah, I'll be off now. Meet you here later," he mumbled, sounding a lot less sure of himself than he usually did.

"Wouldn't miss it," she promised.

After that she expected him to make some joke about how no girl could turn down meeting up with Louis. That was the sort of thing he'd normally come out with. But this time there was nothing. He opened his mouth, closed it again and then turned away from the stall.

"Th-thanks for being my friend..." he whispered.

"Don't get all mushy on me," Marilyn warned.

"Nah, I'm... I'm not. Well, best be off then. Catch you later, Mal!"

"See you around, Lou-"

He darted off before Marilyn could even finish that. She wasn't surprised though, not really. Louis prided himself on his ridiculous ideals and to be seen crying in public wouldn't be great for him. Deep down Marilyn knew that Louis would miss her, the sentiment came across.

She'd miss him just as much. The two of them were the eldest of the Black Ravens and had been thick as thieves for a long time. He was easy to talk to and underneath his lazy teenager exterior, Louis was about as sharp when it came to the others as Marilyn herself was. It would be a shame not to have anyone to talk to about them now, especially when there were so many troubles on the horizon. But at the end of the day he needed to sort of his family's problems first and foremost. She wasn't going to argue that it would do his dad good to get away from the temptations of the black market.

So it would just be her from now on, single-handedly working the lives of the Black Ravens into a better place. Even if Louis said that she shouldn't. She had to. What other choice was there?

Marilyn sighed, stood up and smiled out to the world.

"Come on, everyone! I've got red apples, green apples, any kind of apples you can imagine! 50p a bag! You won't find a better deal than that this side of Misthallery!"

And, as always, she ploughed on.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** This chapter takes place in between chapters thirteen and fourteen of Grasping Liquid, when Marilyn and Gus go to talk to the Barde siblings about their recent choices.

* * *

"Now be polite, helpful and offer to pack their bags for them if you think they need you to. Don't be afraid to point out all the bargains if they look like they might buy more, because there are some good bargains today. During the quiet spells you can memorise them all and practise your sales pitch. Oh, and don't forget that the most important part is to give them a biiiig smile!"

Marilyn grinned widely, showing off her own pearly whites to demonstrate. The response she got from Roddy was a quick turn of his lips that looked more like a gurn than a smile. It lasted all of a few seconds before his usual frown was set back into place.

"This is such a pain..." he mumbled.

"I appreciate you doing it though," Marilyn assured him, "The stall would have to close without someone to watch it, but if I don't go now then I doubt I'll have too much time left to talk to Arianna and Tony."

"It's no big deal. I wasn't doing much else today and those two do need to talk to someone about what happened at that auction," Roddy replied, "You're easily the best one in the group to do it."

"I'm glad you have such faith in me. Well, I'd better get going before the rain starts," Marilyn concluded.

"Good luck," called Roddy.

The two waved each other goodbye and then Marilyn turned to walk away from that part of the market. Even if the weather seemed bleak today, there was something nice about being able to be out in the streets at this time without worrying about the fruit stall. For almost as far back as she could remember she'd helped her family out with it. At first because it seemed fun to be involved in the family business, but then later because when her mother had fallen ill during the spectre's attacks she'd had no choice but to do it. Marilyn never begrudged her family for this, but all the same she did like being able to get away for this short while.

Even if her reason for leaving wasn't just to have a stroll around Misthallery.

The auction that had taken place a couple of days ago had been a colossal mess that might cost them Tony and Arianna's help as part of the group. A rowdy customer had grabbed Arianna – none of them were sure what he might have done to her, even now. Luckily Roddy had been quick on the uptake and managed to drive the man off before any damage could be done.

Although Marilyn supposed that assessment wasn't entirely true. Damage had been done. Thankfully not in the form of Arianna being harmed, but in other ways the group had been affected by that night. None of them knew what was going to happen with the auctions after such a shake. Only Crow would be able to make that decision, but he'd been tight-lipped and evasive since that night. The result of this was that Badger had become paranoid that his idea for the new stream of auctions had caused all this (Marilyn hoped that her talk had helped him, but she knew that Badger's worrying could be boundless at times), Roddy was becoming anxious that Crow might not make the right decision and, most importantly, they didn't know how the Bardes felt about everything.

That last matter at least Marilyn hoped she could help out with today.

When she reached the entrance to the market Marilyn caught sight of Gus. He'd been stood near Aunt Taffy's sweet stall, but it seemed more as if he'd been waiting around than interested in buying sweets today. Sure enough, when Gus caught sight of her he rushed over.

"Marilyn, hey! Are you... um, going up to Barde Manor?" he asked, "Because i-if you are, I'd like to go with you. If that's okay, I mean..."

"Sure, the more the merrier," answered Marilyn, motioning for him to walk along with her.

It'd be good to have another friendly face there, Marilyn felt. And Gus was a sensitive soul who could probably talk with the two of them as well as Marilyn could. Especially Tony, given that Gus knew what it was like to be seen as the baby of the group, even more so than their actual youngest member, Socket.

"Do you think we should invite Crow?" Gus checked. He was glancing back towards the market as the two of them crossed the first rope bridge together.

Marilyn knew she couldn't spoon-feed Gus her wisdom. It was true that he'd gotten wiser on his own these past few years, but she'd made a point to never give him answers if she felt he could figure them out for himself. It might be cruel, but it seemed to have helped him out in the long run.

"You're smart, what do you think would have happened if Crow had come?" she challenged.

There was a pause in which Gus thought it over. During that time only the creaking of the old bridge could be heard. Then, after the moment was over, Gus gave his reply.

"I think that while Crow cares about us all he's also too proud to admit when he's wrong without a fight," Gus started, "He wouldn't want to put Tony or Arianna at risk, but at the same time he might be so caught up in getting them to come back that he won't take no for an answer and that could mean they'll fall out with us."

"That's right," confirmed Marilyn, "On top of that, it's plain to see that both Crow and Arianna are stubborn enough that it sometimes causes them to clash. I don't think that's what Arianna needs right now."

"No, she doesn't..." Gus trailed off.

The two of them made the rest of the journey in companionable silence. There were short bursts of conversation, but Gus's shyness meant that he'd often clam up quite quickly. It was a shame, because Marilyn knew that the two of them could get along swimmingly if they ever got the chance to properly talk. Hopefully someday soon Gus would find the courage to speak as openly with her as she could tell he wanted to.

By the time they arrived at Barde Manor slight splatters of rain were breaking through the clouds. They sheltered on the doorstep and Marilyn knocked firmly. It was an old door, but the sound echoed grandly around them, making the atmosphere seem a little eerie.

After a few moments of waiting, the door was pulled open just enough so that Tony could peer out from behind it. Dishearteningly, he didn't open it all the way upon seeing who was there.

"Hi Tony, we've come to see how the two of you are, seeing that you haven't been around since the auction," Marilyn began, not letting his reluctance deter her.

"We've had a lot to think about," Tony darkly retorted.

"That's why we wanted to talk to you," insisted Gus, "What happened to Arianna was horrible, but we're all still your friends."

"If you're our friends then you'll understand that we want to be left alone," snapped Tony.

"No, Tony! We're not starting that again." The voice had to be Arianna's, even if she was on the other side of the door and therefore hidden from Marilyn and Gus's view; "Remember what happened the last time we cut ourselves off from others?"

"That was different..." grumbled Tony.

"Well either way I want to talk to them, so let them in," Arianna demanded.

Tony looked back at the two Black Ravens and then averted his gaze to the ground. Clearly he wasn't on board with any of this, but also didn't want to argue with his sister. With great reluctance he stepped aside and pulled the door open further.

"Come in..." he sighed.

The two guests stepped through, both feeling too awkward about the whole thing to thank Tony for letting them in. It would have seemed more like a taunt, considering he didn't want them there, and they wouldn't have wanted him to feel like they were making fun of him. But by contrast to her brother, it seemed that Arianna was very glad to see them. Her face lit up with a warm smile. A lot of the time Arianna came across to many as cold and distant, but when she did come around to someone she showed a side to herself that anyone would be fortunate to know.

"I'm glad you're both here," she told them, "I was beginning to worry that no one would want us back at the market after what happened."

"No, the opposite is true," assured Marilyn, "We've all been very worried that you might not come back. But we do want you back with us."

"We're not taking part in the auctions any more," Tony cut in.

"Speak for yourself! I want to help the Black Ravens again as soon as I can," retorted Arianna.

"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else," Marilyn suggested, "Somewhere that we can all sit down. Then you can both get your feelings out onto the table."

"Of course, how rude of me. This way," Arianna replied.

She led Marilyn, Gus and Tony through to one of the living rooms further inside the manor. The four of them walked in silence, which allowed for the two Black Ravens to take in the surroundings. It was much larger than any other house they'd been in.

"I'll never get over how big this place is," Gus marvelled, as they reached their destination.

"It often feels too big for just Tony and myself," Arianna confessed, "Sometimes I wonder if we couldn't put the other rooms to better use in some way. They're just going to waste as they are right now. But anyway, that's not what you're here for. Would either of you like something to drink before we get started?"

Both of them politely declined, leaving everyone free to take a seat. There were two sofas angled around a coffee table, so Marilyn and Gus sat together on one. The Bardes took to the other, but notably sat at opposite ends. It was a sad day when something caused Tony and Arianna to turn against each other, Marilyn felt.

"So I guess we should start with finding out what you both want," Marilyn stated. Perhaps it was bold of her, but she didn't fancy beating about the bush when they all knew what they were here to talk about; "I can see that you want to return to the Black Ravens, Arianna, and you don't, Tony. So maybe it'd be best if you talk one at a time and promise not to interrupt each other."

"Arianna can go first," Tony answered, sharply.

Neither agreed not to stop the other while they were talking, but it was still a start. Marilyn knew that they had to get the ball rolling so they could figure out what was best for the two of them.

"Thank you, Tony," said Arianna, "Though I'm not sure how much more there is to say. I just want to be part of this. It's been wonderful these past few years to finally get out from being locked up here to make friends, but it's only been working with the Black Ravens that's given me a sense of purpose. I'm good at this. And if I can't go back to it then I fear that I'll end up becoming empty inside just knowing what I've lost."

"That's pretty deep..." Gus mumbled in awe.

"But sometimes it's not about just doing what we want," argued Tony, "I'm glad that Arianna feels so happy with you guys, but it's not safe for her there. We all saw that it's not!"

"I've told you before, Tony, I can look after myself," Arianna heatedly replied.

"So that sums up the matter," Marilyn interrupted, before any further arguments could break out, "Either you both come back to the auctions and Arianna is potentially at risk or you both stay away and Arianna misses out on something she wants to be part of. To me the answer here is that we make the auctions safer, then you'll both have no reason to need to stay away. If you come to the next meeting we can talk about what we can do that might help with that."

"No..." Tony mumbled.

Marilyn looked across at him and suddenly released that she didn't understand Tony. It was an unusual feeling for her, since she prided herself on being a good judge of character and being able to fathom out everyone's best interests. Tony had seemed like an open book in the past – he was a lonely rich kid who had shut himself away from others in the past in order to protect his sister. It had cost them both friendships that they've only just started to build up again in recent years. When Crow had made Tony an honourary member of the Black Ravens it had meant a lot to him because it made him part of something. Unfortunately, his privileged upbringing did mean he saw what they did as more of a game than a way of life, at least to start with. They'd phased out involving him with the auctions the first time because he just didn't fit in, so when they'd invited both him back for a second time, along with Arianna, he couldn't have been happy. Tony had wanted to be part of a group, Marilyn had felt. It was a shame that because of this the Black Ravens had accidentally ended up playing with his emotions. But before now she'd truly felt that if the auctions could be made safe it would mean that Tony would pull back his protective brother shield and jump at the chance to be part of them once again.

Why was he still so reluctant? What was she not getting here?

"Tony, they can make it work," Arianna promised, "Please, we have to go back with them."

However, Tony shook his head and stared off out of the nearby window.

"Can I, um, say something to you, Tony...?" Gus asked. He didn't get a response, but went on anyway; "I know what you're going through and I know how you feel. I'm not going to say it in front of everyone, because you might get embarrassed, but believe me – I know. It's so easy just to want to get away from it and I'm not going to stop you if you think that's best for you, but I also don't think it'll help you. It's hard and you'll have days when you really, really want to give up, but if you stick at it then eventually you'll... well, you'll find what you're looking for. And then you won't feel bad just for being there."

Now Tony had turned his attention to Gus, eyes were wide and looked as if he was seeing him properly for the first time. Marilyn could tell that Gus's words had struck a chord with Tony and she was glad, even if she did feel a little foolish for not getting it sooner. Though given that Gus knew what it was like to be the weak link on an otherwise strong chain it made sense that he'd pick up on this issue before she did. And no one could deny that Gus had worked hard to climb his way up the ladder. Surely a pep talk like that would convince Tony that he could do the same.

"I would like that," Tony agreed.

"That sounds like we're reaching an agreement," chimed Marilyn, "So we can work at making the auctions safer and then you'll both come back?"

"What do you think, Tony?" Arianna pressed, smiling at him.

However, Tony merely recoiled back into himself; "I still don't know..."

"Maybe we're putting too much focus on both of you going one way or the other," suggested Gus, "You're both really close, everyone knows that. You pretty much do everything together, right? But maybe this time what's right for one of you isn't what's right for the other. Maybe you both need to think more about what you want to do yourself and less about taking the other along with you."

"You just said that Tony should stick in with the Black Ravens," Arianna reminded.

"Only Tony can choose what's best for him. I gave him advice about what I did in his situation, but that doesn't mean that he has to go with it. There might be a lot more factors that I don't know about that are affecting him as well. All any of us can do is give our advice and then let other people make their choices," Gus answered.

"Maybe. Though personally I think that sometimes others do need a push in the right direction," mused Arianna, "Regardless, you do have a point about us both needing to spread our wings and not let needing each other stop us from doing what we think is right for ourselves. Thank you for... putting it like that."

"We've given you both a lot to think about, I can tell," observed Marilyn, "But if nothing else, for now would you both agree to come to the next meeting? There's only so much that the two of us can talk to you about without knowing what Crow wants the Black Ravens to do next."

"Yes, we- ...I mean, I'll come to the meeting," confirmed Arianna.

"And I will, too," Tony added.

"I'm glad to hear it. We'll come back up to let you know when that's going to happen. Or one of us will, anyway. It might not be me, since I've got my parent's stall to look after," Marilyn admitted.

"Thank you. It must have taken some sorting out for you to get away from work even for a few hours today," said Arianna, "We won't keep you if you want to get back to it."

"Thankfully Roddy didn't mind babysitting for a while," Marilyn chuckled, "But you're right that I shouldn't keep him there for too much longer, he's got his own jobs to do. Though I'd hate for you to think that we only came up here to talk about black market business and then scarpered."

"Don't worry about it, we both have a lot to think about anyway," Tony dismissed.

"Hopefully we'll be hearing your decisions at the meeting?" checked Marilyn.

"You will."

They both said this in unison. Part of Marilyn felt that they'd made their decisions right now and even a few more days to mull it over wouldn't change their resolves. It would be interesting to see the Barde siblings going separate ways from each other for the first time. All Marilyn could do was hope that it worked out and that neither of them would get hurt.

"We'll see ourselves out then," Gus offered, "Thanks for talking with us about this. Everyone will be glad to know you're coming back at least to talk."

"You're welcome," Tony muttered.

"Yes, and we hope you have a safe journey back," added Arianna.

Marilyn nodded; "I'm sure we will. Well, we'll be seeing you both later then."

With that both she and Gus headed out. They stayed in silence as they walked through the manor, hardly daring to utter so much as a word until they were outside and a good distance away. The rain was still falling, but somehow it felt better to be here then inside the stuffy building.

"Guess I should have brought an umbrella," Gus commented, finally breaking the spell.

"Even our combined wisdom didn't have us thinking that far ahead," laughed Marilyn, "It isn't as if I didn't know it was forecast for rain today as well. I guess everything that's been going on has had me too distracted."

"That goes for all of us," Gus concurred, "Though I don't know what you mean about combined wisdom. Y-you're the smart one in the group..."

Hearing that only made Marilyn's chuckling increase; "You're kidding, right? Gus, you're much wiser than you give yourself credit for. I was stumped back there, but you knew exactly what to say to Tony."

"Just because I've gone through the same thing..." mumbled Gus.

"Relating to other people's situation is the first step towards being able to sympathise with them enough to help. It's important," Marilyn insisted, "And anyway, we both know that Wren's the smart one of the group, not me or you. There's a difference between smart and wise."

"I-if you're sure..." Gus stammered, though it didn't sound as if he fully understood what she meant.

"All the same, the technicalities of it don't change the fact that we've got no umbrellas or even coats, does it?" hummed Marilyn, "Better get a move on."

She slung her arm around Gus's shoulder, causing him to yelp. Then she started to rush down the hill, with him hurrying along just to keep up. Their footsteps splashed in the rain and before long their shoes were soaked, but they didn't stop laughing all the while.

It was silly and as they went through town a fair few heads turned in their direction, but sometimes you just needed to be silly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes:** This chapter takes place near the start of chapter fifteen in Grasping Liquid, when Marilyn and Gus are heading up to Barde Manor on one of Bucky's boats to meet with the others. This is before Marilyn decides to challenge Crow, if anyone's fuzzy about the timeline of events.

* * *

A lazily whistled tune carried over the crisp morning air. It was a sound that was familiar to this river, given that Bucky brought his boats up and down it many times each day, always humming the same tune. He was a person who lived by routine and as long as people wanted boat trips he'd always be there to provide them. You could rely on Bucky.

Part of Marilyn worried that she might lose his attention entirely if she let Bucky drift off too much, so she made to talk to him before that happened.

"Hey Bucky, I have a question," she called, "What do you think about moving furniture about on your boats?"

Gus shot Marilyn a look of horror, as if she was about to reveal some grave secret. And perhaps she was, but Marilyn knew that she had this under control. She waved Gus quiet as Bucky made to respond.

"Furniture, eh? No one's ever asked me that before," Bucky replied. It was clear from his expression that the cogs in his head were turning; "Do you mean like a removal van? It's so hard to get those big things into Misthallery. I guess if anyone was ever needing to move house and they wanted to use Bucky's boats then I'd be glad to."

"It's... kind of like that. A bit. You see the Bardes might be moving some furniture about soon and they've asked some of us to help them. It might be a lot of stuff over a long time, but we'd be grateful if you could lend us a hand when you're not busy with tourists," explained Marilyn.

"Anything to help out those two nice kids. And you lot as well, of course," Bucky agreed. It didn't bother Marilyn that he'd added them as an afterthought – everyone in Misthallery wanted to help Tony and Arianna after the spectre incident, which is what she'd been banking on. Bucky continued, "I'll be glad to get more business to my boats as well – it looks good. Tourists are all fine and well in the summer, but they sort of dry up over winter."

"Thanks very much, Bucky! We'll let you know when we need your help with this," concluded Marilyn.

That out of the way she let Bucky get back to his whistling. It didn't take long before he'd gotten lost in the moment again, as if their brief conversation had never happened. But all the while Marilyn could tell that Gus was watching him closely, waiting until he deemed it safe to talk before opening his mouth.

When he did decide he could do so, Gus pressed in close and whispered, "Crow's not going to be happy if Bucky finds out! This is pretty risky."

"I'm doing you a favour," Marilyn dismissed, not keeping her voice down at all, "If I don't arrange something then Crow will have you lugging tables and chairs all the way from the market to the top of the hill."

"I guess so..." Gus mumbled. He seemed guilty to admit it, so she could tell that he was glad to have gotten out of that one, "But even so, what if Bucky finds out about the Blac- ...about us?"

Marilyn shrugged; "I doubt he'd be too bothered. Most people I talk to these days suspect we're up to something, even if Crow thinks otherwise. As long as we're keeping our heads down and not hurting anyone then I doubt they'll get in our way."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," agreed Gus. There was a long pause after that, with only the sound of Bucky's song and the splashing of the oars to break it. But then Gus spoke up again, "M-marilyn... I want to ask you about Crow."

"What about Crow?" echoed Marilyn, as she watched a small dragonfly pass them, heading in the opposite direction.

"...Is he okay?" Gus checked.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that," chuckled Marilyn, "I could list about ten things wrong with that boy without trying."

"It's sort of... hard to place," Gus murmured, "But I've been getting the impression that something has changing in him lately. In all of us. And I don't just mean because of all the stuff that's been going on with the new auctions. It feels deeper than that."

So Gus has noticed it as well? Marilyn isn't surprised at this point, given how insightful he's proving to be. There are so many changes in the air and soon enough every last one of them is going to notice. It's unavoidable.

"Yeah, that's 'cause it is," she clarified, "I don't want to put it bluntly, but we're growing up. We have been for years. And now we're all starting to reach the point where we know it can't be the same any more, but we're getting there at different rates. Crow's clung so deeply to what he's always done that finding out the ground is crumbling from under him is too much. Part of him wants to fight harder than anything in the world to keep it the same. But the other part... the other part of Crow is bored and wants risks. I can see it in his expression – deep down he wants to throw down the gauntlet and try something new. These little changes to our auctions won't satisfy that forever."

"I see..." replied Gus. He took a moment to process it. You could always tell with Gus that he took what you were saying on board as best he could. But the question he came out with next was such a direct one that it did surprise Marilyn; "...So what's stopping him from doing just that? We all know that he's daring enough and he knows it too."

"Us. We're what's stopping him. He believes that if he doesn't maintain everything as it always has been then he's letting us down," Marilyn answered, without missing a beat.

"Then he'll destroy himself for us..." mused Gus.

He stared out at the river as that realisation hit him. It must be far too much for him. Marilyn instantly felt bad for dropping all of that on Gus out of the blue. She reached over and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry. We're all going to be all right," she soothed.

"I'm not worrying," assured Gus, "Just... thinking how we can help Crow."

"Only Crow can help himself. Over time he is going to figure all this out and then we can see where we'll go from there," said Marilyn.

"M-maybe he has figured it out already, but from what you're saying it sounds like he can't help himself," Gus debated, "If he's just going to cling to this as long as he can for our sakes then nothing will change. He needs something to step in and break him away from it."

"And what do you reckon could do that?" Marilyn quizzed. She was genuinely interested.

"He needs to know we can stand one our own two feet. I don't know how we could show him that, but that's what he needs to learn. Then he can do what he wants without worrying about all the rest of us," Gus guessed.

"Sometimes I wonder though," Marilyn cut in, "I'd like to say you're right, but I don't think that it's fair to assume we're all ready to do that. Would you say Badger can manage without Crow?"

"I-I don't want to be rude..." whispered Gus.

"Go on – would you?" Marilyn pressed.

"Badger deserves a chance to prove himself along with the rest of us," Gus insisted.

"But I don't think he wants that chance," Marilyn objected, "Out of all the Black Ravens, he would cling to Crow the longest. The only way we could make him prove himself to Crow is to force him and that would be too harsh. I couldn't do that to Badger."

"Why do you have to be the one that does though?" Gus checked.

"I don't think I get what you mean," Marilyn evaded.

"There are many of us. You shouldn't feel like you have to look after us in Crow's place if it comes to that. We're all in the same boat, um, figuratively speaking," stated Gus.

"Because... because I don't think any of the rest of you will stand up and do it," Marilyn said, sharper than she intended to, "I'm the only one that will get the ball rolling on something so bold as going against Crow."

Bucky's whistling grew louder. Clearly there was only so much of two teenagers bickering that he could ignore. Both Marilyn and Gus fell silent. They allowed the moment to pass and they both accepted that, once again, Marilyn was right.

She didn't want to head up to Barde Manor in this frame of mind. Especially when she knew there'd be so much that the others would want to discuss when they got there. She needed a clear head. Thankfully, Gus's next reply helped in that.

"If you do stand up against Crow, I'll do whatever I can to help you," he mumbled.

Marilyn finally slipped her arm off Gus's shoulder, but she stayed close. And she smiled warmly at him. That had been what she'd needed to hear.

"...It means a lot for you to say that. Thanks, Gus," she said.

"Just let me know the plan and I'll be ready. Honestly, I think that a lot of us will. We're all worried about Crow," Gus went on.

"When I know the plan, I'll let you know the plan," promised Marilyn, "But right now let's just focus on getting through today."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Gus, "Th-there is one more thing though..."

"Oh, and what's that?" Marilyn checked.

"I know you can read everyone like a book, so you probably already know this, but I really l-"

"Hate to interrupt, but this is your stop," Bucky said, with a cough, "I'll need to get back down the hill before people start filing out of Great Ely, so if you'd be so kind."

"Of course!" they said in unison.

With that the two of them climbed out of the boat and waved Bucky goodbye. He briefly mentioned that he might be about when they want to go back towards the market, but they both knew there would be too many others returning with them to fit on one of Bucky's boats. And besides, the walk back down was always much easier than the one up was.

As they crunched across the rocky path, Marilyn felt glad to have her feet back on the ground. She turned towards Gus again once Bucky was out of sight, curious about what he'd started to say on the boat.

"So, back to what you were talking about before," she hummed.

"It was... actually nothing. Um, nothing important, anyway. I-I think we covered everything that we needed to talk about. Oh look! There's Crow and Badger up ahead, better go catch up with them, huh?" Gus stammered. His voice came out as a shrill laugh that sounded strange from him.

Before Marilyn had a chance to respond he'd already darted off after their two friends. All Marilyn could do was shake her head and hurry after.

"Look who stole the boat before we could get there, Badge'," chuckled Crow, "Ain't they just jammy."

"Doun't be mardy, Crowlo," Badger scolded.

Marilyn would place a bet that she'd have to listen to Crow complaining about walking all the way up here as they finished the last leg of the journey, but that was the sort of harmless banter that she could live with. If he'd planned better than he could have been here before them to get the boat, but he was too distracted to think about little details like that right now. Which was what Marilyn had over him, at least for the moment.

And perhaps she should set her plan in motion while she did...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:** This chapter takes place within chapter eighteen of Grasping Liquid, during Marilyn's auction. Starts when Marilyn, Gus, Tony and Arianna leave the hall to organise the customers. Also, this is the last chapter of Advice from the Market Stall, so next update we'll be moving back to Grasping Liquid itself and onwards with Act Three! Thank you so much to MJ for giving me the encouragement to write this side-story, as Marilyn  & Gus's relationship was indeed something that I wanted to explore further while I had the chance.

* * *

Marilyn didn't look back into the hall as she, Gus and both of the Barde siblings headed out into the corridor. She'd see those that had been left behind soon enough, in little more than five minutes should all go well, but right now she couldn't face them. Or, more accurately, she couldn't face Badger. He'd be going to pieces on the inside and if he saw she was anything less than completely confident it would shatter the illusion he had of her.

They were all counting on her. Somehow she had to pull this auction through from the midst of disaster.

"Right, we need someone out there to let them know what's going on," she started, once they were out of earshot from the others, "I can do that if none of you feel up to it."

"N-no, let me do it," squeaked Tony.

"Are you sure?" Marilyn asked, "You've already done a lot of great work this week. There's nothing you need to prove, if that's what you're worried about."

Tony shook his head; "It's not that. I know a lot of the locals in the crowd and they know me. They all live in the Great Ely area, not the market crowd that you're use to. They also know that Arianna and me are involved somehow, so maybe they'd feel better if we spoke to them. Save the Black Raven for when they get inside."

"That does sound like it'd make more sense," Marilyn agreed, "Okay, if you're sure that's what you want then head out the front and let the crowd know what's going on. After that try to organise them into groups based on how many you think would fit into the hall at a time. First come first served and if anyone has a problem with that come back through here and grab Roddy so he can get them in line."

"Will do!" chimed Tony.

"I'll go wait at the door to let them through on your signal," Arianna added, "That's what you wanted, right?"

"Yes, that'll be perfect. And while they're coming through Gus and I will be standing at different parts of the hallway to steer them in the right direction. That sounds like everything, so you two better hurry off," concluded Marilyn.

Both brother and sister nodded before dashing away towards the entrance. As she watched them go, Marilyn hoped that Tony could handle this. There was no doubt in her mind that Arianna would be all right, but Tony was still such a nervous person. However, the situation had left them with little other choice or much time to plan around this, so there weren't many alternates.

She let out a sigh. Today truly was a disaster...

"This is going to work," Gus assured, speaking up for the first time in a while, "Once we get the crowd on the move it'll just be a case of keeping everything in order and doing what we usually do."

"I'm not sure it's going to be that simple," admitted Marilyn. She turned back towards him, now that Arianna and Tony had disappeared from sight, "Maybe we can make tonight work if we push ourselves, but this is going to have a lasting effect on the Black Ravens. So many locals know about us now and they'll only tell more people still. It won't be a secret any more..."

Gus looked down at the floor; "Why would he do this...?"

"So you've guessed too?" Marilyn checked, "I could tell that Roddy had cottoned on straight away, but I wasn't sure about the rest of you."

"Who else could it have been?" replied Gus, looking back up again, "When Badger said that he'd been chasing another Black Raven around North Ely, I knew that most of us were accounted for with getting ready for the auction. As much as I don't want to believe it, the imposter could only be Crow."

"Well, unless you, me and Roddy are all completely off the mark I'd say we have our saboteur," Marilyn confirmed, "Especially when you consider that he use to live up there years ago. Out of all the Black Ravens, he'd be the only one other than Tony or Arianna to know that area well. And I'd put money on that they wouldn't have snuck around the underwater walkways like Crow would have done."

"What's it all about though? Is he so worried that we can do this without him that he's actually trying to take us down? That doesn't seem like something he'd do after how many years he's spent building us up," mused Gus.

"I don't know. Crow's actions can be erratic and he rarely bothers to explain himself. Part of me wants to believe that he knows what he's doing, but even if he doesn't, our job right now is to make this auction work. We can worry about the rest of it after that," Marilyn replied.

"Yeah, it must have been almost five minutes by now," agreed Gus.

The two of them took a look around the corner and further down the hallway to where Arianna was waiting to open the door. She caught their eyes and nodded, as if to say that Tony had got the crowd ready to go whenever they were. It was impressive for anyone to have organised such a large group so quickly, particularly for a shy boy like Tony.

Both Marilyn and Gus hurried to pull on their Black Raven robes. After that they were no longer two nervous teenagers on the verge of finding out if their plan was going to work, but instead were part of a machine that thinks and acts together to complete the task at hand. Though admittedly they were both probably still nervous.

"There are two sharp turns that the crowd will need to make to get them into the auction hall," Marilyn stated, "I'll stay here by this one, turning them off from the entrance into the corridor that leads to the room itself. And then you'll need to stand by the room to direct them inside and make sure they don't wander further down than that."

"Got it," answered Gus, with a nod of the Black Raven mask, "It's... going to be okay."

Marilyn chuckled, "Are you sure?"

"Um, n-no."

"Good, me neither. Now let's go find out!"

* * *

The auction concluded in three parts and they could very nearly say that it had gone well. If not for Crow throwing a wrench in the works once again.

Maybe that wasn't a fair assessment. His grand reveal during the auction had been more about showing off than anything else and hadn't done any lasting damage the way that his stunt with Badger had. In some weird way, Marilyn believed that it might have worked out better that he did turn up for the auction. Now that many people had seen Crow bidding, they would think that he wasn't part of them and had been just as curious as the rest of Misthallery about what was going on. And since Crow acted almost like a figurehead for the market kids, they by extension might be off the hook. So even if the Black Raven was going to be better known it would take longer to trace it back to them.

But no amount of logical thinking on Marilyn's part could account for the hurt feelings amongst the group, especially from Badger and Roddy. The two of them trusted Crow above all else and when it came out that he was indeed the culprit behind the fake Black Raven they understandably blew up at him.

It ended with Badger racing out of the room, unable to face this any longer.

"Badgah...!" Crow called, though the long-legged northerner had already sprinted beyond his hearing by the time he managed to say it. Crow made to follow him, but Marilyn put a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave him, Crow," she said, "I know that you want to help, but he's too angry and you're too wound up right now. Give him until tomorrow. Then you'd better hope that you've got something good to make up for all of this."

"Wot if he does somethin' stupid before then?" demanded Crow, "I don't wanna sit around while Badge' goes an' 'urts 'imself!"

"He won't. He's probably just going to go home and cry," Roddy snorted.

They all nodded in agreement. As much as Marilyn knew that poor Badger would be embarrassed if he was here, he did have a reputation as being a bit of a crybaby. And in all honesty, after tonight he had a lot to cry about.

It seemed this wasn't enough for Crow though. Their wayward leader ran a hand through his hair, face a picture of worry.

"I've ruined it. I've completely messed up. He's not going to want to come with me now..." he whimpered.

"You were... gonna take Badger with you?" checked Roddy.

"Yeah, but I guess that's ovah now," Crow sighed, "I've bin such an idiot...!"

"No one's disagreeing with you there," assured Marilyn, "But I think that if Badger knew that you wanted him with you then it... well, it would help. But you have to do this properly, Crow."

"I will do, don't worry about that. Heck, I was even gonna go ask 'is ol' man for permission," Crow replied, with a hollow chuckle to finish his words off.

"Do that then. Do it as soon as you can," pressed Marilyn, "Don't talk to Badger until after that."

"Right, I'll go first thing in the mornin', when the 'ospital opens for visitahs," Crow vowed, "But, um, that's enough about me an' Badge' for now. I'm sure the rest o' ya are all tired and don't wanna 'ear about my problems. Mal, would ya be so kind as to give me the reins of the Black Ravens again?"

"They're all yours, boss," sniggered Marilyn.

"Thanks. So... I guess I said most o' wot needed to be said before Badge' ran off, but I don't think I can say enough times 'ow proud I am o' everyone o' ya," he praised, "We're gonna 'ave a couple of days off to rest an' then we'll do damage control. Aftah all that's in ordah an' we've got more eyes on the Black Ravens in the best way possible, then I'll start getting' ready to leave..."

"Is that all?" Roddy snapped.

It was clear he was having a hard time keeping his temper back, but knew this was neither the time nor place to kick off. And it seemed that Crow had picked up on this too, because he quickly nodded in answer to his question.

"Yeah, that's it. All o' ya 'ave a good rest an' I'll see ya in a couple o' days," finished Crow.

With their reinstated leader dismissing them it was like a spell was broken across the room. They could all relax now, at least for a short while, before it would get stressful once again. Though maybe this time the problems would work out for the better and they could truly get themselves into the best shape possible before Crow (and potentially Badger) left them for who knew how long.

At different paces the group left the room. Roddy stormed off almost instantly and Crow wasn't far behind him. Whether they were going to talk was anyone's guess, but Marilyn hoped that they would. Despite his unpredictable rashness, Crow had something of an understanding of Roddy that none of the others came close to having. Even if he was the problem, Crow could talk him around.

Soon after that Tony went back through to the other room to see how Arianna had got on with the last of the auction winners. Once they got the all clear that the rest of the stragglers had gone for the night, Marilyn, Gus and Scraps all came through to join them.

They talked for a while about the auction and about the future. It seemed likely that Tony would want to join them again after this, which Marilyn was glad of. Deep down they all knew that the Black Ravens would be good for him, even if he was still finding his place within them.

But ultimately they were all too tired to keep up the conversations for long. With a few more goodbyes, Marilyn and Gus saw themselves out. Only Scraps stayed to talk with the Bardes longer. But because he was generally a loner who moved about at his own pace, neither of them were worried about him finding his way back on his own. Nothing scared Scraps and you'd have to be very foolish to pick a fight with him on a dark night.

It definitely was dark now, as Marilyn realised once they hit the cool air of the outside. Only the stars and some hazy lights from houses further down the hill illuminated their walk back home. The mist obscured some of this, but they'd lived in Misthallery for long enough to be use to walking around in that. Especially given that the trek to and from Barde Manor was becoming a common one for all of them to take.

What struck Marilyn most of all was how quiet it was. You wouldn't believe that only a few hours ago this path was teeming with people trying to get a glimpse of what was going on with the auctions.

"So do you think it went well?" Gus asked, once they were a good way towards the town itself.

Marilyn considered this and answered, "As well as it could have gone, I reckon. Maybe things didn't go swimmingly between Crow and Badger... or Crow and Roddy, for that matter, but they'll sort it out between them. Sometimes you need to have a snap in the tension to clear the air."

"That sound right," agreed Gus, "Then we'll be planning for when Crow goes. But, um, I think we'll be all right. Maybe before all this I would have been worried, but I can see now that we'll manage without him."

"From the looks of things, we can all see that now," agreed Marilyn, with some satisfaction.

"And... um, I-I think you... w-well you make a b-better leader than Crow does..." Gus stammered.

"Don't let him here you say that," laughed Marilyn, "He'll be moody for weeks! Seriously though, when the time comes I don't think that I'll step up as leader. Maybe I'll say to Crow that I will, but once he's gone I have another person in mind who I think will be better for the role than me."

"Even though you're so good at it?" Gus questioned. He seemed almost disappointed.

"I don't want to do it," Marilyn bluntly retorted, "It's far too much being both the one nudges you all quietly in the right direction and the one who directly gives you orders – that's a conflict of interest. And I'd rather just pull the strings from behind the scenes, like I always have. No, other people are more suited to being leaders than I am."

Gus twiddled his fingers awkwardly; "I'm surprised you're telling me all this."

"You know it anyway, so there's no point in keeping it a secret from you," Marilyn hummed, "Besides, I trust you."

She couldn't see Gus's face too closely in the dark, but she was willing to bet that he was burning bright red about now. Maybe it was cruel for her to put him in this position, but Marilyn knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before Gus admitted that he had feelings for her. It was just a matter of him reaching the potential he had to be both wise and confident before he would do that.

...And from there, Marilyn wasn't sure what would happen. Or even how she would respond when he did. Some things were best left to the moment.

They made their way back through town and the continued to talk about when Crow was gone, since it was an unavoidable topic.

"We're going to be down two more Black Ravens on top of already losing Wren, Socket and Louis," Gus pointed out.

"I'd say we'll be down three," corrected Marilyn.

"Three?"

"Yeah, eventually one more of us will follow Crow, though it will take some time," Marilyn predicted.

"But Roddy has his mum to look after," reminded Gus.

"I've been hearing some things, though it wouldn't be my place to say," Marilyn said, "Roddy's heart is torn between his family and Crow. But maybe in time there won't be so much of an issue there."

"Okay, so maybe in time we might lose Roddy as well. That leaves Scraps, Tony, Arianna, you and me. No matter how good we all are it's still going to be a struggle," replied Gus, "So I've been thinking that... um, actually Crow probably wouldn't like it..."

"Crow won't be here," Marilyn prompted.

"...I guess, but even so... Well all right then, I was thinking that maybe as time goes on we could recruit some new members," Gus suggested, "What do you think?"

Marilyn smiled and looked around the street. From where they were she could see through the window into one of the houses, where a prim and proper young boy was being scolded by his parents for staying out too late. He glanced their way and gave Marilyn the most savage of glares, to which she merely nodded sweetly and continued to smile. After that they were out of sight of the house and the moment was gone.

"I think that's a good idea," she answered.

"And I'd take a guess that you're already two steps ahead of me and have a few people in mind?" checked Gus, smirking a little.

"Come now, I can't ruin all the surprises," evaded Marilyn. She gave her nose a little tap for emphasis.

"All right, I won't ask," promised Gus, "Part of me wants to be as surprised as everyone else."

"Sometimes wisdom takes away the fun of the surprise, but I hope you find the right balance someday," Marilyn offered.

"A-as long as I have you- ...um, all of you, I mean... I'm s-sure that I will," confirmed Gus.

"Yeah," Marilyn agreed, "I think that I will, too."


End file.
